Gutter strip 10 x $1 Rare Beauties stamps

The gutter strip consists of 10 x $1 stamps from the Rare Beauties stamp issue, five on either side of the blank strip separating the two panes of a stamp sheet.

Throughout human history gemstones have been valued and used for personal adornment and ritual practice. As well as being objects cherished for their intrinsic beauty, gemstones have been – and continue to be – valued as symbols of wealth and status. Over the ages, the cutting of gemstones has evolved from a limited practice into a complex art that uses sophisticated technology to reveal a mineral’s hidden beauty.

To be transformed into gemstones, minerals must possess hardness (resistance to scratches and general wear), measured on the MOH’s scale; beauty, defined by colour, clarity, lustre; and rarity. Some arresting minerals that are too soft or fragile for wearing as jewellery are faceted into “collector stones”, in which the art of the expert cutter has overcome the constraints of the mineral to present the stones as aesthetic objects for collectors.

The gemstones shown in the stamp designs are in the collection of the Australian Museum, in Sydney. The golden sapphire and the pink diamond represent precious gemstones that are cut and polished as possible centrepieces for exquisite jewellery. The rhodonite and the fluorite exemplify stones that are valued as collector stones, rarities transformed by lapidaries into singular specimens for the pleasure of gem specialists.

Technical details

Issue date: 30 March 2017

FDI withdrawal date: 27 April 2017

Denominations: 2 x $1, 2 x $2

Stamp illustration: Gary Domoney, Visua

Product design:Sonia Young

Printer: RA Printing

Printer (rolls): Pemara

Paper (gummed): Tullis Russell Red Phosphor

Paper (self-adhesive): C100,RAF Unik

Printing process: Offset lithography

Stamp size: 26mm x 37.5mm

Perforations: 14.6 x 13.86

Sheet layout: Module of 50

FDI postmark: Gembrook, Vic 3783

Issue withdrawal date: 30 September 2017

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